A true mom...

I have truly joined the ranks of mommyhood.  Last week I was thrilled to purchase a bath tub toy organizer and was even more so excited that it has stayed up on the wall.  Then it hit me - I.am.a.mom!  Ever have one of those moments, where you realize your former, non-mom self, would never have done fill-in-the-blank or been excited about thus-and-such?!  The other week I started checking out swagger wagons (aka: mini-van) online, seriously, what is happening to my "I will not be a cliche mom and drive a van" self?!

When we were in California for my brother's wedding we rented a Dodge Caravan.  I told Jeff, "You are going to hear me 'oohhh' and 'aahhhh' all about this car, please snap me back to reality."  Jeff instead showed me all of the awesome features and kept pointing out how much furniture and thrifting hauls I could carry in the back with the convenient stow-and-go seats!  Then my dad asked me, "Why do you dislike mini-vans so much?"  I said, "Because they have this connotation that you are a fuddy-duddy soccer mom driving around an army of kids and I am young and hip."  He looks at me and says, "But your mom drove a mini-van and she wasn't a fuddy duddy!"  So here I am - excited about tub organizers, mini-vans, and being a mom!

Polynesian Recipes!

When we decided to throw Naomi a luau party for her second birthday, it seemed appropriate to cook Polynesian food.  I have never ventured into this particular cuisine but, WOW, it was easy and delicious!  A friend of my parents, who just happens to be Hawaiian, brought in his family cookbook to share their tried and true recipes!  Enjoy!

Kahlua Slow Cooker Pork

Let me tell you, I doubted this recipe from the get go, I mean how can a recipe with so few ingredients be so flavorful and moist?!  Seriously, we did not even use the banana leaves and it was A.MA.ZING!

Ingredients

• 1 4-6 lb pork shoulder or Boston butt roast
• 1 Tbsp liquid smoke, Hickory flavor
• 2-3 tbsp red Hawaiian Sea salt (you can find this on Amazon or at World Market)
• Banana leaves – optional

Instructions

1. Wash and pat dry the pork roast and place in the slow cooker
2. Pierce all over with a fork, pour the liquid smoke evenly over the roast and sprinkle liberally with the sea salt.
3. Place the lid of the slow cooker on and set the time for 8-12 hours on LOW. (We let ours cook a full 24 hours)
4. Check at about 8 hours for doneness. If not done let go the full 12 hours, checking every hour.
5. Either remove the pork from the pot and shred with a fork and return to pot or shred in the pot when its done. You can remove some of the liquid and shred then add some back in to keep the pork from drying out.

Notes

If using banana leaves, which can be found at any Asian grocery store, place some leaves in the bottom of the pot reaching up the sides. Place the roast on top of the leaves, then add the liquid smoke and salt and wrap tightly with the leaves tucking them back under the roast. you can tie with cooking twine if wanted but its not necessary if the leaves are wrapped tightly enough. Cook the same as a non wrapped roast This is excellent with sticky rice, sweet potatoes or steamed veggies.   

Coconut cake

See - my mom literally scanned the recipes right from their friend's family recipe book!

Soba Noodle Salad

This salad was so delicious and refreshing, it would be perfect for any Summertime gathering!

Suonomo Salad - Aka: Cucumber Salad

This last recipe we served post-party for dinner.  Lomi-lomi Salmon, what a dish.  If you like salty dishes like I do, than this is the dish for you! Sorry I don't have a picture, we were, quite honestly, pigs about this dish and ate in all in no time flat.  

Our Hula Girl's Luau!

As soon as we wrapped up Naomi's cupcake party from last year, I immediately knew I wanted to go with  luau theme for her second birthday.  My sister, brother, and I all have Summer birthdays and usually that meant fun-in-the-sun birthday parties.  A March birthday around here can still be cold and winter-ish.  My thought, why not warm things up by celebrating with Polynesian food, grass skirts, and little umbrella garnished drinks!  We had a great time celebrating with friends and family!

Nothing says, "Aloha," like an umbrella wreath.... this was so easy, it would be silly to make a tutorial.  I bought a straw wreath and stuck the umbrellas in one at a time.  It took about 30 minutes and no glue required! 

Last minute change of plans, we had an early morning rain shower so decorating the back deck was out of the question.  I moved all of those decorations into the dining room.  It was a warm day, the sun eventually came out, and seating overflowed out to the picnic table on the back deck!

On the stairs I added some grass, palm frons, and leis!

Party favors - hula hoops!

Craft for the kids was a string your own lei.  

A little vignette for my little lady!

Key lime cupcakes!

Fruit salad!

Drink station complete with coconut cups!

I used this party as a means of trying a new style of food - Polynesian.

We served a few kid friendly dishes too!

Little lady is now the proud owner of a new tricycle!

I love a packed buffet!

The birthday girl!

She was all business about cake and blowing out the candle!

How things have changed since last year, she did not want icing on her hands this go around ;-)

My cousin helping Naomi make a lei.

She has got some growing to do!

Gift time!

One must stay well hydrated when opening gifts!

And that's a wrap!  Another birthday party in the books.  Of course, I will post all of the Polynesian recipes throughout the week.  A friend of my parents supplied his family recipes and they were top notch!

Two!

Well, we now have a two year old in the house.  I just have to share a few of her birthday photos! Beth Hamilton from Beth Hamilton Photography did a great job of keeping up with our little miss.  When I scheduled our appointment, I had mentioned that Beth should pack her running shoes since Naomi a) LOVES being outside and b) LOVES to run through open spaces.  The combo made for a busy photo session!

It finally happened!

It needs a new coat of paint but it was love at first sight!

It finally happened y'all - that's right, I snagged a Henry Link Bali Hai double dresser off Craigslist for a steal!  As you know, I am a HUGE craigslister!  One of the tools I use when shopping Craigslist is list-alert.com.  If you have not checked it out, you must!

Here's how it works; first you enter what you are looking for, then you enter what cities you would like it to search, next enter your email address, finally sit back and wait for List Alert to send you an email when an item matching your search criteria is posted to Craigslist!  I love it in cases like the dresser I just picked up.  They are en vogue and go within hours of posting, often times for a hefty price tag.  Happy hunting y'all!

My Funny Valentine

We had a lovely Valentine's day!  It is so much fun to have a little one now, holidays are much richer and filled to the brim with laughter and sweet memories!

I set up for a day of fun the night before!

I am in love with Target's vintage carnival line.

My happy Valentine!

Looking for her Valentine's cards.

We enjoyed a breakfast of pink chocolate chip pancakes and banana slices!

Checking out her goodies!

We painted magnets!

We finger painted!

We made pine cone bird feeders, which quickly became squirrel feeders, but it was fun nonetheless! 

Hanging up her bird feeders!

By the time we finished all of our crafts for the morning it was time for lunch!  It was certainly a treat - chocolate peanut butter with sprinkles!

We spent the rest of our V-day hanging out with Jeff once he returned home.  Really, that is how we like to enjoy this holiday - celebrating the love we share as a family!

The Little Jewel Box Part 2

To catch up on my sister's house tour, please click here.  My sister's new house has two bedrooms, which is perfect if you ask me.  She has a lovely master bedroom and then a guest room, perfect for overnight guests!  For a smaller condo, there are still two beautiful bathrooms and lots of storage, possibly more storage than our single family home!  Take a peak...

The guest bedroom before.  This room needed the least amount of work because it's colors were already very seashore-ish.  We reoriented the bed and added some new accessories.  

This room still needs it's drapery and we are looking to replace the desk with a dresser!

My mom refinished this night stand and added a fun fish knob!

My sister has some of the most unique and fun mermaids in her collection and this is just one of my favorites!

This was the guest bathroom before.  The previous owner did a great job of selecting the finishes, however, we chose to change the paint color.

Here is the guest bath after we changed out the color and accessories!

This shower curtain adds just the right amount of pizzazz to the space!

It's possibly my favorite room of her new house!

Looking into the master bedroom.

This was the master bedroom before.  

We changed the metallic walls to a pale blue called Tropical Mist.  The bedding, which was the biggest splurge, was found a Pottery Barn (duvet cover and shams,) Overstock (coral quilt and shams,) and Ikea (the sheets.)

We found a ton of our accessories, like this pillow, at HomeGoods.  We also shopped at TJMaxx, Ikea, and Pier 1.

We have a few more oyster plates coming to add to the area over the bed.

Here is another before shot.

Another before.

The big gold mirror is getting a distressed pink finish soon!

The master bath.

My mom made these cute little mermaids for Becca's bathroom.

We added a little color to the shower with the blue shower curtain and the...

cute, pink shell rug!

Thanks for touring my sister's new casa!